Essential Questions:
How does historical context impact author purpose?
How do symbolism and imagery reveal author tone?


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What to look for:
  • Symbolism
  • Mood/Atmosphere
  • Jargon
  • Pun (especially in names)
  • Irony (Situational and Verbal)
  • Imagery

2013-2014

We will be blogging while reading the novel 1984. Go to this site for directions:

http://rycestudentblogsap.wikispaces.com/


2012-2013
As you read, create a chart in which you build descriptions for the major characters of the novel. You should also explicate, either by highlighting in your own copy or using post-its in the school copy. For each assigned reading, I have given you a focus of elements and/or motifs. Be prepared to discuss those in addition to reader-response in class.

Due October 22: Read pp. 5-27 (Book ONE, sections I – II)
Imagery, govt bldngs, two minute hate, metaphor

Due October 23: Read pp. 27-43 (Book ONE, sections III – IV)
Shakespeare, irony, minitrue, paradox

Due October 24: Read pp. 43-69 (Book ONE, sections V – VI)
Power of language, eroticism v. love, axiom, hope

Due October 25: Read pp. 70-87 (Book ONE, section VII)
Lottery, memory. symbolism

Due October 26: Read pp. 88-105 (Book TWO, sections I – II)
Emotional intimacy vs. physical intimacy, social class distinctions

Due October 29: Read pp. 105-130 (Book TWO, sections III – V)
Absence of religion, fear, integrity

Due October 30: Read pp. 130-147 (Book TWO, sections VI – VIII)
Dreams, social class distinctions, church rhyme, dark vs. light

Due October 31: Read pp. 148-179 (Book TWO, section IX)
War is peace, ignorance is strength, governmental hierarchy

Due November 1: Read pp. 179-197 (Book TWO, sections X – Book THREE, section I)
What crime is truly dangerous?, symbol, juxtaposition

Due November 2: Read pp. 198-215 (Book THREE, section II)
Martyrdom, fear (room 101), torture, dream

Due November 5: Read pp. 215-226 (Book THREE, section III)
time, nature vs. nurture

Due November 7: Read pp. 226-245 (Book THREE, sections IV – VI); appendix
Language, symbol (room 101)





Brave New World/1984 - Study Site

While reading your novels in your groups, you will begin each class with 10-15 minutes of student-led discussion based on the reading. This is when you discuss plot elements, things you liked or didn’t understand, elements you discovered as you read, etc. After that time, I will provide a series of questions to help facilitate discussion on the macro level. You may or may not have already covered some of them in your student-led discussion (the goal is to have already covered them - that means you’re analyzing as you read!!). If you have, skip them and move to the next one.

In addition to discussion, your group’s objective is to create an online study site about the novel. One person from the group will open his/her gmail account and go to google sites. You will create a site, then invite your group members (and me) to be collaborators.

Requirements:
  • Author Bio Sketch - research the novelist and compose a brief summary (2-3 paragraphs) of the important and interesting components of his life. You also need a minimum of one picture and links to the sites where you find your information.
  • Historical Context Surveys- research the historical contexts of both when and where the novel is set and when the author wrote the novel. What was going on in the world during those times that would be important to the plot and themes of the novel. You need to present the information in a visually appealing way (bulleted list, timeline, etc) with multiple pictures to illustrate the issues going on during these time periods. You also need to have links to the sites where you find your information. Suggested keyword searches:
    • totalitarianism
    • socialism
    • communism
    • dictators in Europe during the 30s and 40s
    • capitalism
  • Character Illustrations - as you read the novel, maintain a character chart with each of the character’s names and a description of both their physical nature AND their personalities. Present the descriptions in a clear way with as much detail as possible to make it understandable to your audience. After you finish the novel, think of a song AND/OR a character from another book, movie, or television show for each of the main characters you think best represents their personalities, provide links to the songs, lyrics, pictures, or videos and explain your choices.
  • Dominant Element Analysis- as you read the novel, think about the elements listed below and search for them. Once you find examples of them, list them on the page (cite the page numbers from where you found them!) and explain what they are. After you finish the novel, find a picture to represent your examples and explain how the elements relate to the themes.
    • Symbolism
    • Imagery
    • Point of view
    • Irony (situational, names)
    • Allusion
    • Juxtaposition of places

Suggestions:
Remember, this is a website that others will view once you go public. Therefore, you want your pages to be organized and visually appealing. For example, when you provide links, rather than just list them at the bottom of the page, you might want to embed them much like you would an in-text citation in a research paper, and you might want to make the hypertext link a single word or picture rather than a cumbersome URL.

Below is a link to a similar project my underclassmen have been working. Rather than create a google site, they are working within wikispaces, so the format will be a bit different for you, but you get the gist.
Exemplar


Student-created sites:
Brave New World
Cowardly Old World
Huxley Headlines
A Journey of New Discovery
1984
Owellean Slavery
1984dotorg
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